


Pride and prejudice

by Matilda_Am



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Humor, Brother-Sister Relationships, Elves, Enemies to Friends, Family, Family Feels, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Protective Legolas Greenleaf, Thranduil Not Being An Asshole, War, Young Legolas Greenleaf
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:41:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26490577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matilda_Am/pseuds/Matilda_Am
Summary: When the war is just starting to thrive like a terribly beautiful black flower, what are you living for? What are you dying for? Who is your worst enemy, and can it not be your own mind?
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome!!💛 If you like this work, please let me see your thoughts, I love your comments so much👏👏

Amariel knew that she didn't like Arwen Undomiel, even if it was the first time she had seen her.

She had been told to meet guests from Lorien and Imladris that day. A dozen of Greenwood warriors, their princess, and a very certain prince who just happened to be nearby were sprawled out in the branches of beeches, humming softly to themselves. The sky was clear, birds were singing everywhere, and the hearts of the elves were eager for spring. From time to time, the quiet breathing of the forest was interrupted by their laughter.

But Amariel didn't laugh.

"Marie, - Legolas said to his sister, tossing her a small flask that certainly didn't contain water. - Our guests haven't even set foot in the woods yet, and you're already going to freeze them with your eyes, aren't you?"

"Wrong, - she snorted, and pulled the cork out of the flask with her teeth. - I'm just thinking about what they are, Noldor of Imladris, Galadrim of Lorien... What if they are completely different? What if they will not understand us?"

"Then the main thing is that we will try to understand them, my drama Queen. Oh, give me back the wine!"

Amariel finally gave a short laugh, and before her brother could reach her, she tossed the flask to Sellian, almost the third child of the Greenwood Royal family. By some ridiculous accident, this mocking, arrogant, and annoying boy had been her older brother's best friend for as long as she could remember. Not that she complaint about it much actually, for he was also a very kind and loving creature.

To her surprise, Sellian didn't accept the game. Catching the flask, he suddenly ordered everyone to be silent and fell from the tree, at the last moment grabbing the tip of the branch with his free hand. Sharp gray eyes scanned the elven path.

"They're coming!" the boy grinned.

Indeed, Amariel soon heard the clink of horseshoes, and then a solemn procession appeared on the path. The Noldor and Galadrim were dressed in silver and snow-white, and mounted on magnificent steeds. Most of them looked wary and not too happy to be out in the woods. 

Well, she couldn't blame them.

"Stop! Who's coming?" one of the guards asked, clearly just for the sake of decency.

"An old friend," said a bright female voice. Marie didn't see due the dense greenery, who said that, but immediately realized that it was the Lady of Imladris. They had seen each other several times before. But when one of the recruits lunged down from the branches, she immediately grabbed his arm:

"We were told to ask for the password!"

"Green tea," the voice said, almost laughing.

"Amazing, you really are an old friend. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

Marie was the first to fall from the branch and slide down the trunk, landing firmly on her feet, which apparently terrified both the elves and their horses. Legolas kept up with her.

"Lady Celebrian. Welcome to the Greenwood," he bowed slightly. The lady of Imladris smiled faintly in response, then put a hand on his shoulder, gently and carefully, as if afraid to frighten a wild animal, and looked at him and his sister sympathetically.

"How are you?"

There was no chance that she wouldn't notice their almost unnatural thinness and a few new scars on their faces. So they just looked at each other and laughed without emotion.

"Oh, poor children..."

"Sorry, but this phrase does not raise our strength of spirit," realizing that the situation urgently needs to be saved, Sellian leaned down from the tree.

"Of course, we could try to talk about other things... You must be Sellian, right?" Celebrian interrupted herself immediately.

Amariel didn't know what they might be talking about, so for now she preferred to watch the strange elves from the sidelines. They were all incredibly beautiful compared to Nandor, but she understood that it was all about their clean, wonderful clothes and impeccable ability to hold themselves proudly. Almost all of them were very neat rather than beautiful. With the exception of probably one elleth.

Her dark hair curled in large coils around her shoulders, contrasting with her pale skin and bright blue eyes. She wore a dress of the lightest silk, and an elaborate choker adorned her beautiful long neck. For a moment, Marie's hand went to her throat, where the high collar hid the pale scars that she wore more proudly than any jewelry.

"You must be lady Arwen," Legolas said with a bright smile. "Welcome. I am Legolas, and this is Princess Amariel."

Marie bowed her head for a moment.

The Princess of Imladris looked at them and their warriors with some tension, but then her lips, compressed in doubt, opened in a light and insanely beautiful smile:

"It's very nice to meet you. I'm glad to be here."

Amariel didn't think it was true.

Suddenly, two absolutely identical elves appeared out of nowhere on either side of Arwen's horse.

"Hello, friends from Greenwood," one of them said, smiling broadly. "I'm Elladan."

"...And I am Elrohir," the other continued quickly. It was hard to follow where the phrases started and ended.

"Am I sleeping?" Sellian asked, looking from one twin to the other with a puzzled expression.

The tension between the Noldor and Nandor eased a little, but then Amariel felt a slight flash, something like a warning, and quickly turned to her warriors and said:

"My King is calling us. We must get to the Palace as quickly as possible, ladies and gentlemen, there are many dangers in these forests."

Without another moment's delay, the United elven tribes hurried through the forest to the Palace of the ElvenKing.


	2. Chapter 2

Their journey to the Palace would not have taken more than three hours if the horses had not stopped dead from time to time, sensing the dangers hidden in these woods. They were very difficult to calm down. The Noldor and Galadrim soon became nervous, too: though they said nothing, Amariel could clearly feel the tension in the air around them.

Only the twins, the sons of Elrond, seemed more delighted with the mysterious forest than frightened. It was not surprising that the forest first turned it's full and undivided attention to them.

\- Did I hear something? - one of the twins looked back warily.

\- Something like a voice? - Legolas asked. - Ignore it, please. And don't turn around, for everyone's sake.

\- And if you turn around and see something that can't be, don't go to it, - Amariel continued, recalling the rules that had long seemed obvious to her.

\- Even if it calls you, - Sellian said.

\- Especially if it somehow knows your name? - lady Celebrian asked tensely.

\- Right, - the three grinned together.

They walked on in silence.

Amariel couldn't tell exactly when she sensed that they were being closely watched. It started with a thread-thin sense of unease, but it grew until she almost lost her composure in a fit of anger and panic. The farther they went from the border, the darker the forest became. The further they went from the border, the more intently the eyes of others were fixed.

She ignored the eyes, the voices, as she always did. If you ignored them, your chance to survive was much higher. But ignoring didn't help that time.

She quickly lost contact with the king, and the trees refused to transmit messages. It was bad. Especially bad if you considered the presence of those who were not familiar with this place. 

\- Legolas, - she said to her brother very quietly, - does father feel this?

\- I can't say, - he shook his head. - The voices keep me from listening.

The next second, he ordered everyone to stop.

\- Lady Celebrian, let the horses go, they will find their way to our friend Beorn. I'm afraid you'll have to defend yourself with all your might.

\- What will we have to do? - someone said in surprise. Amariel followed the direction of the sound and narrowed her eyes warningly at Arwen Undomiel:

\- We're surrounded.

***

The arrow was fired without any hesitation, when she found out one of them, and reached it's goal.

The enemy's arrows were fired at the same time. Obeying Sellian's order, the wood elves grouped and closed their shields, leaving only Amariel, Legolas and Sellian as the most experienced warriors unprotected outside. There were so few of them against their brainless but incredibly strong opponents.

They were about three dozen of orcs. Standard situation. What are two dozen out of twenty thousand?

\- Marie, up! - Legolas ordered. His bow had been snapped in half, and now he couldn't shoot from the trees. She had to take his position.

No matter how many times Legolas practiced close combat, Amariel was always afraid for him. Because it wasn't his usual job. He had to shoot from above, just as she had to get as close to the enemy as possible so that she could easily drive the sword into their heart. But that day, everything went wrong.

Her arrows hit live targets from above, but not as accurately as necessary. Legolas and Sellian desperately tried to break through the surprisingly strong armor.

She was not entirely aware of what was going on around her, but the other warriors had also been forced to scatter across the battlefield, leaving both the Noldor and themselves almost defenseless. And soon there was black blood everywhere.

But everything ends, and this battle has found its end. They needed to move on as quickly as possible, but they were all too tired and had trouble keeping their feet. Legolas counted his warriors, one of whom was wounded in the shoulder and one other was scratched; terrified lady Celebrian and her elves were also hastily checking to see if all were safe.

\- Wait! Where's Arwen?


	3. Chapter 3

The twins, the sons of the half - dead and suddenly incredibly pale lady Celebrian, Immediately began to look around, and one of them said seriously:

"We will find her and catch up with you."

"Do you know this forest and its inhabitants?" Amariel asked sharply. "I'll handle it."

"Go with her," Legolas turned to Sellian, after giving his sister an attentive look. "I'll take the others to the Palace. Oh, please, lady Celebrian, everything will be alright..."

Amariel and Sellian nodded curtly and hurried off into the silent, dark forest.

Finding the trail and following it would not have been so difficult if the forest had been a little more cooperative. But it actually prevented the elves from passing, especially where the trail became clearer; it was strange. All the more strange, that as a rule the forest was that uncontrollable usually only in areas close to Dol Guldur, and they were so far...

Amariel tensely frowned, hearing nothing from the trees, except hateful whispers. Just nothing.

"Mister scout," she muttered, then growled angrily as the branches blocked her path once more. "Why do I feel like we're in a trap?"

"Because we're in a trap, Marie," Sellian murmured.

Indeed, it was as clear as day to them.

Suddenly, the still air that had seemed ready to choke them a moment ago wavered in a shrill scream; Amariel and Sellian froze for a moment, looked at each other like people who don't need words to talk, and rushed forward, pushing through the jungle. The trees moved, whipping their faces with their branches, not letting them pass, not letting them know where the scream was coming from. The elleth quickly whispered words of ancient spells, trying to stop them. Without results.

Tears welled up in her eyes from a particularly hard blow, but she forced herself to think straight, searching for the right spells, searching for the right path.

When they finally saw Arwen, the forest began to rage as if in despair. Amariel's own fright was suddenly replaced by an outburst of uncontrollable rage that clearly didn't belong to her... Ah, her father was finally able to get to her!

"Stop!" her voice boomed through the forest.

All was quiet in less than ten seconds.

Panting, Amariel reached the shivering princess of Imladris and knelt beside her. She was curled up under a tree, her snow-white dress irrevocably ruined, all good spirits lost, of course. Her gaze didn't seem fully focused, which could only mean that she was under a light spell.

"Are you hurt?" Princess Mirkwood asked firmly, trying not to even think about how she had ended up here. Arwen cocked her head, but didn't answer, looking at her in disbelief. Amariel sighed softly and put a hand on her shoulder: "I am real. It's not an illusion, I'm here."

"Oh!" Arwen breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed Marie's hand, as if to reassure herself that she was real. "I'm sorry... Here... Nothing feels real to me. How was the battle? Everyone alive?

"Yes, everyone alive and almost all well. What about you? Can you walk?"

"Yes, I think."

Amariel verified the truth of her words, forcing her to walk a few steps before saying,

"I'm Afraid we're far behind the others. I'm sure Adar already knows about this and will send a patrol to help us if necessary, but we'll have to hurry. Sellian and I are ready to help you at any time."

Arwen nodded understandingly, but... Didn't have time to answer.

Without a sound, without the slightest warning, an arrow was fired at her.

"Behind you!" Sellian shouted, whirling around to where the steel whizzed through the air. But he wouldn't have had time to stop or redirect the arrow. He would never have time.

So, Amariel did what she did automatically, guided only by her reflexes, just as she had done so many times before with her warriors: she leaped, pushing Arwen away so that the arrow flew past the princess of Imladris and sank into her thigh. Before she could fall to the ground, snarling in pain, Sellian hurled the knife in the direction from which the attack had come.

It became quite calm. Only ragged breathing broke the silence of the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, finally!! Finally, I'm here, guys, welcome to chapter three! Leave me a comment, pleeeaaase :3👀👀👀


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I apologize to all the medics who read this. I tried to be plausible, but I don't think it worked out very well... ://

It was late at night, but the two elves were still sitting in the king's study, awake, in the light of candles and rare stars.

"What exactly do you intend to do?" Thranduil asked, concentrating on the sketches Firion had provided.

"Remove the arrow, of course. But this will have to be done very carefully. Do you see the thin line here, so close to the arrow?" Alanor asked, pointing to one of the drawings. "It's one of the most important veins in any elf's body. We can tear it very easily, but it will be almost impossible to restore it."

Thranduil nodded slowly, fully relying on her experience.

This young lady, the sister of one of the best healers, Firion, was trained by both healers and warriors, but almost never appeared among the healers in the Palace, and was part of the regular patrol and treated the injuries of warriors in the forest, even where there was no medicine at all. However, when her brother realized exactly what he would have to do with Marie's wound, he immediately summoned her to the healers' chambers.

"You're here because you'll have to remove the arrow without painkillers, or anything that might make it easier for Marie, right? You're an expert..." Thranduil guessed. Judging by the expression on her face, anxious and frowning, he guessed correctly. And that was bad.

"This arrow infused a certain amount of poison into her," Alanor explained. "It's not fatal, but we can't risk mixing it with anything else. I'm afraid she'll have to go through all this while she's awake. Again."

Thranduil frowned, not considering this the safest idea, but he wasn't entirely competent to argue with experienced healers. So he only laid a gentle hand on Alanor's shoulder:

"I trust you, child. Do what you must."

The next moment, the door swung open, and the only elf who could have entered the King's office without knocking appeared in the doorway. Galion, the Butler.

"She's getting worse."

***

"Firion, won't I inconvenience you?" Legolas asked quickly, crossing the healers' chambers and stopping where Marie lay, incredibly tired, and a dozen or so healers were puzzling over the difficult task.

"You might be inconvenience for me, but only you can help your sister," Firion said. He was another eternal companion of the Prince. "Be so kind as to sit quietly and not be nervous."

Legolas raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue.

As he sank into the chair beside Amariel's bed, he knew that she was deliberately ignoring his presence and and deliberately didn't even look at him. It was easier that way. It was easier for her not to think that her strong older brother had seen her tears, her weakness...

He knew that she was trying not to scream: she always did, always to no avail, and he could never understand why. However, as Firion's hand moved the shortened shaft of the arrow slightly, a sound that sounded more like the howl of a wounded animal cut through the air in the healers' chamber. But this howl soon turned into a loud tirade, full of the most obscene Elvish words, and well, Amariel was in relative order then.

"You'll thank me if I get this thing out of your leg, which is kinda unlikely," Firion replied to her swearing calmly.

"Do you even know what a bedside manner is?" Amariel hissed through clenched teeth, even though everyone knew that this boy wasn't polite most of the time. Even when he pulled a poisoned arrow out of someone's body.

But a soft moan escaped her, and they both ran out of taunts.

Legolas gave his sister his hand to soothe her, but she immediately squeezed it so hard that he almost cried out himself.

"Oh, Eru!" Marie snarled. Her slender body, made up mostly of muscle, arched, but somehow she forced herself to lie still and not interfere with the healer's concentration. "It's like this thing is holding on to me... Firion! Please pull it out now, please!" she begged loudly. Now it was not the voice of brave Amariel Tranduiliel, and the voice of a huge panic.

"Shh, I'm doing it," Firion purred softly, continuing his work, although it was obvious that the Princess wanted to yell at him to stop now. "I'll do it in a few seconds, little flower."

He suddenly called her by a name that was given to her when she was a tiny girl, and he first met her and her family. It was always so calming for everyone...

But he couldn't do it so quickly. So, in a few seconds, minutes, and even an hour, Amariel was left exhausted, hoarse from screaming, dead tired elleth with a piece of iron in her leg.

"Just in time!" Firion commented ironically, when his sister appeared in the room.

Still, it took the healers a long time, too long, to pull the arrow out. It was almost dawn when the long-awaited peace and quiet finally came to the chambers.

Legolas looked with quiet tenderness at pale, haggard face of Marie, who could not even speak from fatigue, still holding her hand and humming softly to himself.

The elleth's chest rose and fell, her breathing was heavy and labored, and hot tears ran down her cheeks.

***

Arwen walked down the corridor as fast as she could. Not that she knew exactly where to go, but others were always ready to tell her the way.

In one of the halls, she noticed a small group of wood elves sitting by the fireplace in a remote corner talking quietly and drinking: one bottle was passing around.

"Prince Legolas?" Arwen called out cautiously when she thought she saw her new acquaintance. Legolas immediately rose from his chair and smiled at her a little wearily:

"Good morning. Are you not lost?"

"No, I... I just wanted to ask if Amariel was okay."

"She's tired, but I believe she will be fine, thank you."

"May I talk to her?"

"Well... If you're ready for a couple of barbs in your address and a disgusting mood," Legolas began thoughtfully, but judging by the quiet chuckles of his friends, he did not speak seriously. Probably.

"I'm always ready," Arwen said with a small smile.

"Okay. So, I forbid you to tell any more of this story while I'm gone!" he snorted at one of his friends, then smiled charmingly to Arwen: "Follow me, please."

They were silent as they walked through the twisting corridors. Not that it was awkward, but they had nothing to talk about, and only Arwen occasionally asked curiously about what she had seen for the first time in her life.

"I don't mean to be rude," Legolas muttered, pausing at the right door, "but please be very careful with my sister. It's hard to talk to her if you haven't known her for at least three centuries. She knows how to offend."

Arwen stiffened a little, but nodded. Legolas opened the door.

***

For a long time there was nothing but absolute silence and darkness, and it was so... Good. So pleasant after so many hours of pain.

And then, a soft light touched Amariel's eyes, breeze touched her skin, and in the next second everything was back. The healer's chambers, empty and quiet, her thoughts, her eyes and ears, and that sickening feeling of weakness spreading through her body.

She tried to stand up, but immediately lost her balance. Her hand automatically grabbed the table, then leaned against the wall, then against the window. Marie rested her head on the cold glass.

A few moments later, the door opened with a quiet creak.

«Hello?» a soft voice said.

She wanted to turn sharply, but she felt she might lose her balance and fall then.

«Yes?» she asked slowly, her eyes fixing on the amazingly beautiful face of Arwen Undomiel. «Oh.»

Amariel didn't say anything else, which seemed to put Arwen in actual confusion.

«Good morning.»

«Yes, a very good one. But if you do not mind I would like to be alone now, so please be quick.»

Arwen's beautiful face almost showed her displeasure, but didn't completely.

«I wanted to know if you're okay.»

Marie knew she shouldn't have smiled so ironically as she nodded:

«Thank you. Is that it?»

«No. I'm sorry, but I need to tell you something. And I believe it is important.»

«Oh», Amariel repeated. «So it is important...»

She didn't like the cautious tone Arwen used, knowing perfectly well what happens to messengers who bring bad news.


End file.
